1. John. Suppose we go up

the hill, Harry; it's very hot down here.

2. Harry. By all means, and,

as we go up, I'll teach you in the way that you say you enjoy being taught. What was your reason for wishing to go up-hill?

3. John. To be cooler; there's always a breeze stirring on the downs at the top.

of our

4. Harry. Do you know that many friends have to live in very hot countries, where they could not endure the heat if they lived always in the plains, and so they spend their hottest weeks in the mountains, to be cooler ?

5. John. What a mercy it must be then to have mountains in hot countries, if it's always cooler there!

6. Harry. It is, indeed. Yes, even in the torrid zone, as the parts near the equator are called, some very high mountains are always snow-capped.

7. John. What does 'torrid zone' mean?

8. Harry. Why 'torrid' means scorched, and 'zone' means belt. The sun at noon is always nearly, and sometimes right, overhead, in the belt of the earth, near the equator; so, of course, those parts must be very hot.

9. John. I don't see why; I always feel the heat more when the sun is halfway down in the afternoon.

10. Harry. Why, that's exactly what makes the sun's heat greater on the earth about the equator than at the north or the south. You feel the sun hot when his heat strikes straight on your back, after the air and everything else has been warmed all day;

and the earth feels it hottest when the sun is right up above it, and hits it straight.

11. John. Yes, I think I see it now. It is like when I want to dry a wet slate or coat, or to toast bread; I hold them right in front of the fire, not sideways.

12. Harry. That's it, Johnny; and then, you see, of course, that the plains, having the sun right above them, become hotter than the hills, whose sides, like the northern and southern parts of the earth, have the sunbeams falling aslant on them, except in the morning or evening. I've heard our skipper talk of some huge mountains in South America called the Andes, which rise up close to the shore. He told us he could see the peaks of these mountains when he was sailing on the ocean nearly a hundred miles from the coast.

13. John. I know why they could see the peaks, and not the base, because the surface of the sea is round; and so, of course, only the peaks could be seen so far away; just as you tell me you have seen the top sails of a ship before the rest of it was in sight.

14. Harry. Well, the skipper said he went up to visit one of these peaks; it was a volcano, or burning mountain. Out of the top

came smoke, and sometimes fire. At the foot of the mountain grew all trees and fruits that want great heat, higher up there were

trees and shrubs that grow in mild climates; higher again plants that grow in cold countries, and then, above all, ice and snow.

1. IF you look at a map of Europe you will find near the centre, a small country in which there are many very high mountains and some great lakes. That country is called Switzerland. On the banks of one of the most beautiful lakes in Switzerland stands the old and pretty town of Lucerne.

2. One day, very many years ago, the people of Lucerne were startled by hearing all the bells of the town suddenly set ringing. The streets were filled with people all running in one direction, and soon was heard the fearful cry of Fire! Fire! Fire!'

3. When the men of the town saw that several houses were on fire, they did all in their power to help the poor people who dwelt in them.

4. Although the fire had spread so rapidly that the tiles from the burning roofs were fast falling in the streets, these brave men entered the houses again and again. They brought